In this paper, an agent-based model of ant traffic on a unidirectional single-lane ant trail is presented to provide better understanding of the jam-free traffic of an ant colony. On a trail, the average velocity of ants remains approximately constant irrespective of density, thereby avoiding jamming. Assuming chemotaxis, we analyze platoon-related scenarios to assess the marching-platoon hypothesis, which claims that ants on a trail form a single platoon in which they march synchronously, thereby reducing hindrances due to increasing density. Contrary to that hypothesis, our findings show that ants on a trail do not march synchronously and do experience stop-and-go motion. However, more interestingly, our study also indicates that the ants’ chemotaxis behavior leads to a peculiar jam absorption mechanism, which helps to maintain free flow on a trail and avoids jamming. Again, contrary to the marching-platoon hypothesis, our findings also indicate that, rather than assisting traffic flow, forming a single cluster actually triggers jamming.

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We investigated agent-based model simulations that mimic an ant transportation system to analyze the cooperative perception and communication in the system. On a trail, ants use cooperative perception through chemotaxis to maintain a constant average velocity irrespective of their density, thereby avoiding traffic jams. Using model simulations and approximate mathematical representations, we analyzed various aspects of the communication system and their effects on cooperative perception in ant traffic. Based on the analysis, insights about the cooperative perception of ants which facilitate decentralized self-organization is presented. We also present values of communication-parameters in ant traffic, where the system conveys traffic conditions to individual ants, which ants use to self-organize and avoid traffic-jams. The mathematical analysis also verifies our findings and provides a better understanding of various model parameters leading to model improvements.

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